Power system for display apparatuses

ABSTRACT

A power system for display apparatuses, which may predict in real time the amount of supplied current for displaying an image in a display apparatus, includes an image data analyzer analyzing image data input from the outside to predict a pixel degradation degree of each of pixels included in a display panel and predicting an amount of current supplied to the display panel on the basis of the predicted pixel degradation degree and a power supply supplying the display panel with power corresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of the Korean Patent Application No.10-2021-0068244, filed on 27 May 2021, which are hereby incorporated byreference as if fully set forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a power system, and more particularly,to a power system for display apparatuses.

BACKGROUND

With the advancement of the information age, the demand for a displaydevice for displaying an image has increased with various forms.Therefore, various types of display devices such as a non-self-lightemitting display device including a liquid crystal display (LCD) deviceand an electroluminescence display device including an organic lightemitting display (OLED) device and a quantum dot light emitting display(QLED) device have been recently used.

Display apparatuses include a power system which generates a drivingpower needed for driving of a display panel by using power supplied fromthe outside. A power system of the related art senses a current consumedby the display panel and controls an inductor on the basis of the sensedcurrent to supply the driving power to the display panel.

The power system of the related art has a problem where a power neededfor displaying an image on the display panel is not supplied in realtime. When a gray level of an image is severely changed or a degradationoccurs in some of pixels included in the display panel, a ripple mayincrease or a response time and a stabilization time may be much taken.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to providing a powersystem for display apparatuses that substantially obviates one or moreproblems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a powersystem for display apparatuses, which may predict in real time theamount of supplied current for displaying an image in a displayapparatus.

Another aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing apower system for display apparatuses, which may stably supply a drivingpower.

Additional advantages and features of the disclosure will be set forthin part in the description which follows and in part will becomeapparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination ofthe following or may be learned from practice of the disclosure. Theobjectives and other advantages of the disclosure may be realized andattained by the structure particularly pointed out in the writtendescription and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the above and othertechnical benefits can be accomplished by the provision of a powersystem for display apparatuses comprising an image data analyzeranalyzing image data input from the outside to predict a pixeldegradation degree of each of pixels included in a display panel andpredicting an amount of current supplied to the display panel on thebasis of the predicted pixel degradation degree and a power supplysupplying the display panel with power corresponding to the predictedamount of supplied current.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the above and othertechnical benefits can be accomplished by the provision of a powersystem for display apparatuses comprising an image data analyzerobtaining saturation data and luminance data of an image from image datainput to a display panel and predicting an amount of current supplied tothe display panel on the basis of the obtained saturation data andluminance data and a power supply supplying the display panel with powercorresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present disclosure areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the disclosure as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiments of the disclosure andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of thedisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a display apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image dataanalyzer of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the power supply ofFIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example in which an image is dividedinto a plurality of regions;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a saturation variationvalue of edge pixels in an image divided into a plurality of regions;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of grouping a plurality ofregions based on a saturation data;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing an example where a use pattern isanalyzed based on image data;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for describing another example where a use patternis analyzed based on image data; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a power supply method according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

In a case where ‘comprise’, ‘have’, and ‘include’ described in thepresent specification are used, another part may be added unless ‘only˜’is used. The terms of a singular form may include plural forms unlessreferred to the contrary.

It will be understood that, although the terms “first,” “second,” etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first element could be termed asecond element, and, similarly, a second element could be termed a firstelement, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

The term “at least one” should be understood as including any and allcombinations of one or more of the associated listed items. For example,the meaning of “at least one of a first item, a second item, and a thirditem” denotes the combination of all items proposed from two or more ofthe first item, the second item, and the third item as well as the firstitem, the second item, or the third item.

Features of various embodiments of the present disclosure may bepartially or totally coupled to or combined with each other, and may bevariously inter-operated and driven technically. The embodiments of thepresent disclosure may be carried out independently from each other ormay be carried out together with a co-dependent relationship.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a display apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The display apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 1 , may include a host system 110, atiming controller 120, a panel driver 130, a display panel 140, and apower system 145.

Although a description has been described based on that the displayapparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure isembodied as an organic light emitting display device, the displayapparatus 100 may be embodied as a Liquid Crystal Display device (LCD),a Field Emission Display (FED), a Plasma Display Panel (PDP), a Quantumdot Light Emitting Display (QLED), or an Electrophoresis Display device(EPD).

The display panel 140 may include a display area where a plurality ofpixels are provided to display an image. The display panel 140 mayinclude a plurality of data lines, a plurality of gate lines, and theplurality of pixels. Each of the data lines may receive a data signal,and each of the gate lines may receive a gate signal. The data lines maybe formed to intersect with the gate lines. The pixels may berespectively provided in a plurality of areas defined by an intersectionstructure between the gate lines and the data lines.

Each of the pixels of the display panel 140 may be connected to one ofthe data lines and one of the gate lines. Each of the pixels of thedisplay panel 140 may include a driving transistor which adjusts adrain-source current thereof on the basis of a data voltage applied to agate electrode thereof, a transistor which is turned on by the gatesignal of a gate line and transfers a data voltage of a data line to thegate electrode of the driving transistor, an organic light emittingdiode which emits light on the basis of the drain-source current of thedriving transistor, and a capacitor which stores a voltage at the gateelectrode of the driving transistor. Accordingly, each of the pixels mayemit light on the basis of a current supplied to the organic lightemitting diode.

The panel driver 130 may receive a control signal from the timingcontroller 120 and may control driving of the display panel 140. To thisend, the panel driver 130 may include a data driver and a gate driver.

The gate driver may generate gate signals for driving the display panel140 in response to a gate control signal input from the timingcontroller 120. The gate driver may supply, through the gate lines, thegenerated gate signals to subpixels of each of the pixels included inthe display panel 140.

The data driver may receive a data control signal and an image datasignal from the timing controller 120. The data driver may convert adigital image data signal into an analog image data signal in responseto a data control signal input from the timing controller 120. The datadriver may supply, through the data lines, the converted image datasignal to the subpixels of each of the pixels included in the displaypanel 140.

The timing controller 120 may receive image data and a timing signalfrom the host system 110. The image data may correspond to digital videodata, and the timing signal may include a vertical synchronizationsignal, a horizontal synchronization signal, a data enable signal, and adot clock.

Moreover, the timing controller 120 may generate a control signal forcontrolling an operation timing of the panel driver 130. In detail, thetiming controller 120 may generate the data control signal forcontrolling an operation timing of the data driver and the gate controlsignal for controlling an operation timing of the gate driver on thebasis of timing signals. The timing controller 120 may output the imagedata and the data control signal to the data driver and may output thegate control signal to the gate driver.

The host system 110 may transfer the image data and the timing signal tothe timing controller 120. At this time, the host system 110 may convertthe image data into a format suitable for displaying an image on thedisplay panel 140. The host system 110 may be implemented as one of atelevision system, a set-top box, a navigation system, a DVD player, ablue-ray player, a personal computer (PC), a home theater system, and aphone system and may receive an input image.

Also, the host system 110 may supply a power to the power system 145.The host system 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay provide image data to the power system 145. This will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8 .

The power system 145 may generate a driving power needed for driving ofthe display panel 140 by using power supplied from the external hostsystem 110. The display panel 140 and the timing controller 120 andpanel driver 130 for driving the display panel 140 may correspond to aload in terms of the power system 145.

The power system 145 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may receive image data from the host system 110. The powersystem 145 may analyze the received image data to predict the amount ofsupplied current and may supply the display panel 140 with powercorresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current.

To this end, the power system 145 may include an image data analyzer 150and a power supply 160. The image data analyzer 150 and the power supply160 may be implemented as one physical element (for example, one chip),but are not limited thereto. The image data analyzer 150 may beimplemented as a separate micro controller unit (MCU), or may beimplemented in the timing controller 120.

Hereinafter, the image data analyzer 150 and the power supply 160 willbe described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the image dataanalyzer of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the image data analyzer 150 may analyze image datato predict a pixel degradation degree of each of the pixels included inthe display panel 140 and may predict the amount of current supplied tothe display panel 140. To this end, the image data analyzer 150 mayinclude an image data input unit 210, an analyzer 230, and a currentsupply amount predictor 250.

The image data input unit 210 may receive the image data from theexternal host system 110. The host system 110 may convert the image datainto a format suitable for displaying an image on the display panel 140and may transfer the converted image data to the timing controller 120and the image data analyzer 150.

The analyzer 230 may analyze the image data. To this end, the analyzer230 may include a region divider 232, a saturation data obtainer 234, aluminance data obtainer 236, a degradation degree predictor 238, aluminance compensator 240, and a histogram analyzer 242.

The histogram analyzer 242 may analyze a histogram of the image data. Indetail, the histogram analyzer 242 may analyze the histogram of theimage data to obtain a grayscale-based frequency number of each of aplurality of colors. The image data may include color and grayscaleinformation about each of the pixels. The color may include red, green,and blue, and a gray level may include 0 to 255.

The histogram analyzer 242 may obtain at least one of a color-basedfrequency number for each line and a grayscale-based frequency numberfor each line. The line may correspond to a gate line. In an embodiment,the histogram analyzer 242 may obtain at least one of a color-basedfrequency number for each frame and a grayscale-based frequency numberfor each frame. In another embodiment, the histogram analyzer 242 mayobtain at least one of a color-based frequency number for each drivingIC and a grayscale-based frequency number for each driving IC.

The histogram analyzer 242 may perform histogram analysis on the basisof the image data input to the image data input unit 210, but is notlimited thereto. In a case where the luminance of the image data inputto the image data input unit 210 is compensated for based on the pixeldegradation degree, the histogram analyzer 242 may perform histogramanalysis on the basis of image data in which luminance compensation isreflected.

The region divider 232 may divide an image into a plurality of regions.The region divider 232, as illustrated in FIG. 4 , may divide the imageinto a plurality of regions each having a certain size. A plurality ofpixels may be respectively provided in the plurality of regions. Whensaturation data and luminance data of all pixels are obtained, a datathroughput may increase, and thus, a data processing speed may beslowed. Also, a data throughput which is to be stored and managed by thepower system 145 may increase.

The power system 145 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may divide the image into the plurality of regions on thebasis of the data processing speed and the data throughput and mayobtain saturation data and luminance data of each region. In this case,each of the plurality of regions may have a predetermined size, but isnot limited thereto.

In an embodiment, the region divider 232 may determine a size of aregion on the basis of the type of an image corresponding to the imagedata. To this end, the image data analyzer 150 may further include animage type determiner 220 and an image type determination model 225.

The image type determiner 220 may input an image to the image typedetermination model 225 to determine an image type. The image typedetermination model 225 may correspond to a model which has previouslylearned an image type of an image by using a convolution neural network(CNN) algorithm. When an image is input, the image type determinationmodel 225 may output one of a plurality of image types as an image typeof a corresponding image. For example, the image type may include ananimal, a person, a scene, a center of town, night, daytime, or a text.When an image including an animal is input, the image type determinationmodel 225 may output the animal as an image type of a correspondingimage.

The region divider 232 may determine a size of a region which is to bedivided based on an image type determined by the image type determiner220. A size of a region corresponding to each of the plurality of imagetypes may be predetermined, or may be set by a user. For example, in thetext or night of the image types, a change in image characteristic suchas a gray level, a saturation, or luminance may be small, and thus, asize of a divided region may be set to be relatively large. On the otherhand, in the animal or center of town of the image types, a change inimage characteristic such as a gray level, a saturation, or luminancemay be large, and thus, a size of a divided region may be set to berelatively small.

In another embodiment, the region divider 232 may determine a size of aregion divided based on a color-based and grayscale-based frequencynumber analyzed by the histogram analyzer 242. The region divider 232may calculate a gray level use rate on the basis of the grayscale-basedfrequency number. The gray level use rate may represent the number ofgray levels where a frequency number to a total gray level is greaterthan or equal to a reference value. The region divider 232 maydetermine, as a relatively small size, a size of a region divided froman image where a gray level use rate is high and may determine, as arelatively large size, a size of a region divided from an image where agray level use rate is low.

The saturation data obtainer 234, as in in FIG. 5 , may obtainsaturation data of each of a plurality of regions so as to obtain edgeinformation corresponding to a contour in an image. In this case, thesaturation data may include a saturation variation value, andparticularly, may include a saturation variation value of an edge pixelcorresponding to an edge among a plurality of pixels included in acorresponding region.

The saturation data obtainer 234 may calculate a saturation variationvalue of each of a plurality of pixels included in a correspondingregion. The saturation variation value of each pixel may be calculatedbased on a saturation of a corresponding pixel and a saturation of eachof peripheral pixels disposed near the corresponding pixel.

The saturation data obtainer 234 may obtain a saturation variation valueof an edge pixel where a saturation variation value is greater than apredetermined threshold value. In this case, the saturation dataobtainer 234 may obtain at least one of the number of edge pixels andpositions of the edge pixels in a corresponding region along with asaturation variation value of an edge pixel.

In an embodiment, the saturation data may further include a saturationaverage value of each of a plurality of regions. The saturation dataobtainer 234 may group some of the plurality of regions on the basis ofthe saturation average value.

In detail, the saturation data obtainer 234 may group regions, wheresaturation average values are the same or similar, of regions disposedat a periphery thereof. In this case, the saturation data obtainer 234may group regions, including an image corresponding to the same gateline in the display panel 140, into the same group.

For example, when a gate line of the display panel 140 extends in ahorizontal direction, a plurality of regions arranged in the horizontaldirection may be included in the same group. The plurality of regions,as illustrated in FIG. 6 , may be grouped into four group regions (forexample, first to fourth group regions) GA1 to GA4 on the basis of asaturation average value. A plurality of regions including a sky imageincluding no cloud may be grouped into the first group region GA1. Aplurality of regions including a sky image including a cloud may largelyvary in saturation due to a cloud image, and thus, may be grouped intothe second group region GA2 instead of the first group region GA1. Also,a plurality of regions including a boundary between mountain and sky maybe grouped into the third group region GA3, and a plurality of regionsincluding the other image may be grouped into the fourth group regionGA4. The number of group regions may vary based on a similarity rangesetting value of a saturation average value.

The luminance data obtainer 236 may obtain luminance data of each of aplurality of regions. In this case, the luminance data may include aluminance minimum value and a luminance maximum value.

In an embodiment, in a case where the plurality of regions are groupedbased on the saturation average value, the luminance data obtainer 236may obtain a luminance minimum value and a luminance maximum value ofeach of a plurality of group regions.

Also, the luminance data obtainer 236 may further obtain a luminanceaverage value of a total image.

The degradation degree predictor 238 may predict a pixel degradationdegree of each region on the basis of luminance data and saturation dataof each region. In detail, the degradation degree predictor 238 mayextract a specific region, where high luminance is continuouslymaintained, of a plurality of regions and may predict a pixeldegradation degree of the specific region. To this end, the degradationdegree predictor 238 may analyze a tendency of the luminance data ofeach region. The degradation degree predictor 238 may analyze a tendencyof luminance data by using at least one of a luminance minimum value, aluminance maximum value, and a luminance average value of each region.

The degradation degree predictor 238 may obtain a frequency number ofuse of high luminance, which is greater than or equal to a referencevalue, of each region on the basis of tendency analysis. To providedescription for example, the degradation degree predictor 238 may obtaina frequency number of use of high luminance of 400 nit or more in eachregion. When a luminance maximum value, a luminance minimum value, or aluminance average value is greater than or equal to 400 nit, thedegradation degree predictor 238 may determine that a high luminance of400 nit or more is used.

In an embodiment, the degradation degree predictor 238 may compareluminance value of each region with a luminance average value of a totalimage through tendency analysis to obtain a frequency number of use ofhigh luminance which is greater than or equal to a reference value.

To provide description for example, the degradation degree predictor 238may obtain a frequency number of use of high luminance which is four ormore times the luminance average value, according to a luminance averagevalue of a total image. When the luminance average value of the totalimage is 50 nit, the degradation degree predictor 238 may determine thathigh luminance is used when a luminance maximum value, a luminanceminimum value, or a luminance average value of a region is greater thanor equal to 200 nit.

To provide description as another example, the degradation degreepredictor 238 may obtain a frequency number of use of high luminance of300 nit or more in accordance with the luminance average value of thetotal image. When the luminance average value of the total image is 50nit, the degradation degree predictor 238 may determine that highluminance is used when a luminance maximum value, a luminance minimumvalue, or a luminance average value of a region is greater than or equalto 300 nit.

The degradation degree predictor 238 may predict a pixel degradationdegree of each region on the basis of a frequency number of use of highluminance. In an embodiment, the degradation degree predictor 238 maypredict a pixel degradation degree based on a frequency number of use ofhigh luminance by using a linear regression model. In this case, thelinear regression model may correspond to a model which is learned basedon a pixel degradation degree and a frequency number of use of a pixelon which degradation compensation has been previously performed.

Moreover, the degradation degree predictor 238 may analyze a tendency ofluminance data of each of a plurality of regions and may predict a pixeldegradation degree based on a frequency number of use of high luminanceof each of the plurality of regions, but is not limited thereto. In anembodiment, the degradation degree predictor 238 may analyze a tendencyof luminance data of only a region, where a difference between aluminance minimum value and a luminance maximum value is large, of aplurality of regions.

It is described that the degradation degree predictor 238 according toan embodiment of the present disclosure predicts a pixel degradationdegree of each of a plurality of regions, but the present disclosure isnot limited thereto. In another embodiment, when a plurality of regionsare grouped based on a saturation average value, the degradation degreepredictor 238 may predict a pixel degradation degree of each of aplurality of group regions.

Moreover, the degradation degree predictor 238 may predict a pixeldegradation degree by further using saturation data of each region inaddition to luminance data of each region. The saturation data mayinclude a saturation variation value of an edge pixel, and moreover, mayfurther include at least one of the number of edge pixels and positionsof the edge pixels.

A pixel degradation degree may increase as a saturation variation valueof an edge pixel increases, the number of edge pixels included in acorresponding region increases, or a frequency number (i.e., a frequencynumber of use of an edge pixel) of use of an edge pixel at a fixedposition increases. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5 , regions A2and A3 where the number of edge pixels is large may be greater in pixeldegradation degree than a region A1 where the number of edge pixels issmall. In order to reflect such a characteristic, the degradation degreepredictor 238 may increase a pixel degradation degree as a saturationvariation value of an edge pixel increases, the number of edge pixelsincluded in a corresponding region increases, or a frequency number ofuse of an edge pixel increases.

The degradation degree predictor 238 may determine a final pixeldegradation degree on the basis of a first pixel degradation degreedetermined based on a tendency of luminance data and a second pixeldegradation degree determined based on a tendency of saturation data. Inan embodiment, the degradation degree predictor 238 may assign a weightvalue to each of the first pixel degradation degree and the second pixeldegradation degree and may summate a weight value-assigned first pixeldegradation degree and a weight value-assigned second pixel degradationdegree to determine a final pixel degradation degree.

The luminance compensator 240 may determine a luminance compensationvalue of each region. In detail, the luminance compensator 240 maydetermine a luminance compensation value of each region on the basis ofa pixel degradation degree of each of regions. A luminance compensationvalue based on a pixel degradation degree may be previously stored as alookup table, and the luminance compensation value may be proportionalto a pixel degradation degree representing a pixel degradation level.For example, when the pixel degradation degree has a first value, theluminance compensation value may have a first compensation value, andwhen the pixel degradation degree has a second value which is less thanthe first value, the luminance compensation value may have a secondcompensation value which is less than the first compensation value.

The luminance compensator 240 may check a compensation valuecorresponding to a pixel degradation degree of a corresponding region ina lookup table and may determine the checked value as a luminancecompensation value of the corresponding region.

It is described that the luminance compensator 240 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure determines a luminance compensationvalue of each region on the basis of a pixel degradation degreepredicted by the degradation degree predictor 238, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto.

In another embodiment, a pixel degradation degree predicted by thedegradation degree predictor 238 may correspond to a luminancecompensation value based on pixel degradation. In this case, thedegradation degree predictor 238 may predict a pixel degradation degreebased on a frequency number of use of high luminance by using the linearregression model, and the luminance compensator 240 may determine aluminance compensation value to correspond to a pixel degradationdegree.

Moreover, it is described that the luminance compensator 240 accordingto an embodiment of the present disclosure determines a luminancecompensation value corresponding to a pixel degradation degree in eachof a plurality of regions, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

In another embodiment, the luminance compensator 240 may determinewhether compensation is performed, on the basis of a luminance minimumvalue with respect to a total image luminance average value or aluminance maximum value with respect to the total image luminanceaverage value by each region.

When the checked value is greater than a reference value, the luminancecompensator 240 may determine that luminance compensation on acorresponding region is needed. Therefore, the luminance compensator 240may determine a luminance compensation value of a corresponding regionon the basis of a pixel degradation degree of the corresponding region.For example, when a total image luminance average value is 50 nit and aluminance minimum value of the corresponding region is 500 nit, theluminance compensator 240 may determine a luminance compensation valueof the corresponding region on the basis of a pixel degradation degreeof the corresponding region. Because a specific region is bright in awholly dark image, the luminance compensator 240 may determine thatdegradation occurring in a corresponding region is recognizable by auser and may perform luminance compensation.

On the other hand, when the checked value is less than the referencevalue, the luminance compensator 240 may determine that luminancecompensation on the corresponding region is not needed. Therefore, theluminance compensator 240 may determine the luminance compensation valueof the corresponding region as 0. For example, when the total imageluminance average value is 400 nit and the luminance minimum value ofthe corresponding region is 500 nit, the luminance compensator 240 maydetermine the luminance compensation value of the corresponding regionas 0. Because a specific region is bright in a wholly bright image, theluminance compensator 240 may determine that degradation occurring in acorresponding region is not recognized by the user and may not performluminance compensation.

The luminance compensator 240 may convert image data input to the imagedata input unit 210 on the basis of a luminance compensation value ofeach region.

The current supply amount predictor 250 may predict the amount ofsupplied current on the basis of the image data. The current supplyamount predictor 250 may predict the amount of current supplied to thedisplay panel 140 on the basis of a color/grayscale-based frequencynumber and a color/grayscale-based current weight value obtained by thehistogram analyzer 242. Here, a current weight value may represent adegree to which the supplied current contributes to a driving currentand may be stored by color units and by gray level units in a lookuptable.

When luminance compensation is performed by the luminance compensator240, the current supply amount predictor 250 may predict the amount ofsupplied current on the basis of image data in which the luminancecompensation is reflected.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the power supply ofFIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 3 , the power supply 160 may supply the display panel140 with power corresponding to the amount of supplied current predictedby the image data analyzer 150. To this end, the power supply 160 mayinclude a mode determiner 310, a controller 320, and a voltage converter330.

The voltage converter 330 may boost an input voltage Vin input from thehost system 110 on the basis of a switching operation and may output aboosted output voltage Vout to a load. To this end, the voltageconverter 330 may include an inductor, a diode, a capacitor, and aswitching transistor.

When the switching transistor is turned on, the inductor may store acurrent flowing from an input terminal. Subsequently, when the switchingtransistor is turned off, a current stored in the inductor may bedischarged through the diode. Therefore, a voltage Vout at an outputterminal may increase, and thus, the output voltage Vout may be boostedto a voltage which is higher than the input voltage Vin. The capacitormay store a boosted output voltage Vout.

The mode determiner 310 may determine an operation mode of the powersupply 160 on the basis of the amount of supplied current predicted bythe image data analyzer 150. In detail, the mode determiner 310 maydetermine one of a high power mode, a middle power mode, and a low powermode on the basis of the predicted amount of supplied current.

When the predicted amount of supplied current is a high load, the modedeterminer 310 may determine an operation mode of the power supply 160as the high power mode. When the predicted amount of supplied current isa middle load, the mode determiner 310 may determine an operation modeof the power supply 160 as the middle power mode. When the predictedamount of supplied current is a low load, the mode determiner 310 maydetermine an operation mode of the power supply 160 as the low powermode.

The controller 320 may control an on/off switching operation of theswitching transistor of the voltage converter 330 to allow power,corresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current, to be outputto the display panel 140. The controller 320 may generate a switchingpulse which is a switching signal for controlling the on/off switchingoperation of the switching transistor. In this case, the switching pulsemay be driven and output through a different scheme on the basis of anoperation mode determined by the mode determiner 310. To this end, thecontroller 320 may include a first switching controller 322 and a secondswitching controller 324.

When the high power mode is determined by the mode determiner 310, thefirst switching controller 322 may be driven in a pulse width modulation(PWM) scheme and may perform control so that power corresponding to thepredicted amount of supplied current is output to the display panel 140.

The PWM scheme may be a driving scheme where a frequency is constant andan output equivalent voltage in the input voltage Vin is output throughturn-on. Because noise occurs periodically in switching, noise may beeasily removed, and thus, the PWM scheme may be efficient in a high loadwhere much noise occurs because the amount of used current is high. Onthe other hand, the PWM scheme may be inefficient in a low load wherethe amount of used current is not high and an off time is necessarilylong.

When the middle power mode or the low power mode is determined by themode determiner 310, the second switching controller 324 may be drivenin a pulse frequency modulation (PFM) scheme and may perform control sothat power corresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current isoutput to the display panel 140.

The PFM scheme may be a driving scheme where an on time is constant andan output equivalent voltage is output by varying a frequency. Because afrequency varies based on the amount of output current, the PFM schememay be efficient in a low load where the amount of used current is nothigh. On the other hand, because noise occurring in switching isaperiodic, the PFM scheme may be difficult to remove noise. Therefore,the PFM scheme may not be appropriate for the high load where much noiseoccurs.

The power supply 160 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may be driven by the PWM scheme in a high load and may bedriven by the PFM scheme in a low load or a middle load, and thus, mayperform control so that power is supplied to the display panel 140,thereby enhancing operation efficiency.

Moreover, it is described that the power supply 160 according to anembodiment of the present disclosure is driven by the PFM scheme in themiddle power mode, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Inanother embodiment, the controller 320 may further include a thirdswitching controller 326.

When the middle power mode is determined by the mode determiner 310, thethird switching controller 326 may be driven by the PWM/PFM scheme andmay perform control so that power corresponding to the predicted amountof supplied current is output to the display panel 140. Therefore, thepower supply 160 according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay enhance operation efficiency despite a middle load.

Moreover, in FIG. 3 , it is illustrated that the mode determiner 310 isincluded in the power supply 160, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. In another embodiment, the mode determiner 310 may beincluded in the image data analyzer 150.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for describing an example where a use pattern isanalyzed based on image data, and FIG. 8 is a diagram for describinganother example where a use pattern is analyzed based on image data.

A power system 145 according to an embodiment of the present disclosuremay receive image data and may analyze a use pattern of a user on thebasis of the received image data. In detail, the power system 145 maydivide an image into a plurality of regions and may obtain saturationdata of each of the plurality of regions so as to obtain edgeinformation corresponding to a contour in an image. In this case, thesaturation data may include a saturation variation value, andparticularly, may include a saturation variation value and a saturationaverage value of an edge pixel corresponding to an edge among aplurality of pixels included in a corresponding region.

The power system 145 may group some of the plurality of regions on thebasis of the saturation average value. The power system 145 may groupthe plurality of regions into a first group region including regionsincluding an upper black image, a second group region including regionsincluding a lower black image, a third group region including regionsincluding a sky image in a scene image disposed between the upper blackimage and the lower black image, and a fourth group region including theother regions, with respect to an image illustrated in FIG. 7 .

The power system 145 may obtain luminance data of each of the first tofourth group regions. In this case, the luminance data may include aluminance minimum value, a luminance maximum value, and a luminanceaverage value. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, a luminanceminimum value, a luminance maximum value, and a luminance average valuemay be referred to as a luminance value.

In the image illustrated in FIG. 7 , a luminance value may be low in thefirst group region and the second group region, and thus, powercorresponding to a low load may be output in the first group region andthe second group region. Also, a luminance value may be high in thethird group region, and thus, power corresponding to a high load may beoutput in the third group region. Also, a luminance value may be middlein the fourth group region, and thus, power corresponding to a middleload may be output in the fourth group region.

The power system 145 may accumulate a luminance value of each region oreach group region to check a tendency of a luminance value frequencynumber. The power system 145 may analyze a use pattern of a user on thebasis of a tendency of a luminance value frequency number of each regionor each group region and may predict a pixel degradation degree of eachregion or each group region on the basis of the use pattern.

When a frequency number where the image illustrated in FIG. 7 isdisplayed on the display panel 140 by a user is high, the power system145 may determine that a pixel degradation degree of pixelscorresponding to the third group region is high and may performluminance compensation on the pixels corresponding to the third groupregion.

The power system 145 may predict the amount of supplied current on thebasis of luminance-compensated image data and may supply the displaypanel 140 with power corresponding to the predicted amount of suppliedcurrent.

Moreover, when a text is included in an image as illustrated in FIG. 8 ,a luminance value may be high in group regions including a text, andpower corresponding to a high load may be output. When a frequencynumber where the image including the text is displayed on the displaypanel 140 by the user is high, the power system 145 may performluminance compensation on pixels corresponding to a group regionincluding a text.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a power supply method according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 9 , first, the power system 145 may receive image datafrom the external host system 110 in operation S901. The host system 110may convert image data into a format suitable for displaying an image onthe display panel 140 and may transfer the converted image data to thetiming controller 120 and the image data analyzer 150.

Subsequently, in operation S902, the power system 145 may classify thetype of an image corresponding to the image data. The power system 145may input the image to an image type determination model to determine animage type. The image type determination model may correspond to a modelwhich has previously learned the image type of the image by using theCNN algorithm. When the image is input, the image type determinationmodel may output one of a plurality of image types as an image type of acorresponding image.

Subsequently, in operation S903, the power system 145 may obtainsaturation data and luminance data of the image. In detail, the powersystem 145 may determine a size of a region which is to be divided basedon the determined image type. A size of a region corresponding to eachof the plurality of image types may be predetermined, or may be set by auser. For example, in a text or night of image types, a change in imagecharacteristic such as a gray level, a saturation, or luminance may besmall, and thus, a size of a divided region may be set to be relativelylarge. On the other hand, in an animal or a center of town of the imagetypes, a change in image characteristic such as a gray level, asaturation, or luminance may be large, and thus, a size of a dividedregion may be set to be relatively small.

The power system 145 may divide the image into a plurality of regionseach having a predetermined size and may obtain saturation data andluminance data of each of the plurality of regions.

The power system 145 may obtain saturation data of each of the pluralityof regions, so as to obtain edge information corresponding to a contourin the image. In this case, the saturation data may include a saturationvariation value, and particularly, may include a saturation variationvalue and a saturation average value of an edge pixel corresponding toan edge among a plurality of pixels included in a corresponding region.In an embodiment, the saturation data may further include at least oneof the number of edge pixels and positions of the edge pixels in acorresponding region.

The power system 145 may group some of the plurality of regions on thebasis of the saturation average value. The power system 145 may groupregions, where saturation average values are the same or similar, ofregions disposed at a periphery thereof. In this case, the power system145 may group regions, including an image corresponding to the same gateline in the display panel 140, into the same group.

The power system 145 may obtain luminance data of each of the pluralityof regions. In this case, the luminance data may include a luminanceminimum value and a luminance maximum value. In an embodiment, the powersystem 145 may obtain at least one of a luminance minimum value, aluminance maximum value, and a luminance average value of each of aplurality of group regions. In an embodiment, the power system 145 mayfurther obtain a luminance average value of a total image.

Subsequently, in operation S904, the power system 145 may predict apixel degradation degree of each region on the basis of luminance dataand saturation data of each region. In detail, the power system 145 mayextract a specific region, where high luminance is continuouslymaintained, of a plurality of regions and may predict a pixeldegradation degree of the specific region. To this end, the power system145 may analyze a tendency of luminance data by using at least one of aluminance minimum value, a luminance maximum value, and a luminanceaverage value of each region or each group region and may obtain afrequency number of use of high luminance.

The power system 145 may predict a pixel degradation degree of eachregion or each group region on the basis of a frequency number of use ofhigh luminance. In an embodiment, the degradation degree predictor 238may predict a pixel degradation degree based on a frequency number ofuse of high luminance by using the linear regression model.

The power system 145 may predict a pixel degradation degree by furtherusing saturation data of each region, in addition to a tendency ofluminance data of each region or each group region. The saturation datamay include a saturation variation value of an edge pixel, and moreover,may further include at least one of the number of edge pixels andpositions of the edge pixels.

The power system 145 may determine a final pixel degradation degree onthe basis of a first pixel degradation degree determined based on atendency of luminance data and a second pixel degradation degreedetermined based on saturation data. In an embodiment, the power system145 may assign a weight value to each of the first pixel degradationdegree and the second pixel degradation degree and may summate a weightvalue-assigned first pixel degradation degree and a weightvalue-assigned second pixel degradation degree to determine a finalpixel degradation degree.

The power system 145 may determine a luminance compensation value ofeach region on the basis of a pixel degradation degree of each regionand may convert image data input to the image data input unit 210 on thebasis of the luminance compensation value of each region.

Subsequently, in operation S905, the power system 145 may predict theamount of supplied current on the basis of the converted image data. Indetail, the power system 145 may analyze a histogram of the image datato obtain a grayscale-based frequency number of each of a plurality ofcolors. The image data may include color and grayscale information abouteach of the pixels. The color may include red, green, and blue, and agray level may include 0 to 255.

The power system 145 may obtain a line-based and grayscale-basedfrequency number of each line. The line may correspond to a gate line.In an embodiment, the power system 145 may obtain a frame-based, drivingIC-based, color-based, or grayscale-based frequency number.

The power system 145 may predict the amount of current supplied to thedisplay panel 140 on the basis of a color/grayscale-based frequencynumber and a color/grayscale-based current weight value obtained throughhistogram analysis. Here, a current weight value may represent a degreeto which the supplied current contributes to a driving current and maybe stored by color units and by gray level units in a lookup table.

Subsequently, in operation S906, the power system 145 may supply thedisplay panel 140 with power corresponding to the predicted amount ofsupplied current.

According to the present disclosure, the amount of supplied current maybe predicted based on image data, and thus, a ripple of a driving powersupplied to a display panel may be stably managed and a response timeand a stabilization time may be shortened.

Moreover, according to the present disclosure, a pixel degradationdegree of pixels included in the display panel may be predicted byanalyzing the image data, and a power may be supplied to the displaypanel on the basis of compensation based on the pixel degradationdegree. Accordingly, according to the present disclosure, an optimalpower for displaying an image on the display panel may be supplied inreal time.

Moreover, according to the present disclosure, the power system may bedriven by the PWM scheme or the PFM scheme on the basis of the amount ofload, thereby enhancing operation efficiency and optimizing powerconsumption.

The above-described feature, structure, and effect of the presentdisclosure are included in at least one embodiment of the presentdisclosure, but are not limited to only one embodiment. Furthermore, thefeature, structure, and effect described in at least one embodiment ofthe present disclosure may be implemented through combination ormodification of other embodiments by those skilled in the art.Therefore, content associated with the combination and modificationshould be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present disclosurewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosures. Thus, itis intended that the present disclosure covers the modifications andvariations of this disclosure provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A power system for at least one displayapparatus, the power system comprising: an image data analyzer foranalyzing image data to predict a pixel degradation degree of each ofpixels included in a display panel and predicting an amount of currentsupplied to the display panel on the basis of the predicted pixeldegradation degree; and a power supply for supplying the display panelwith power corresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current,wherein the image data analyzer is configured to predict the pixeldegradation degree on the basis of saturation data and luminance data ofan image corresponding to the image data.
 2. The power system of claim1, wherein the image data analyzer is configured to divide the imageinto a plurality of regions and to predict a pixel degradation degree ofeach region on the basis of saturation data and luminance data of eachof the plurality of regions.
 3. The power system of claim 2, wherein theimage data analyzer comprises: an image type determiner for inputtingthe image data to an image type determination model previously learnedby using a convolution neural network (CNN) algorithm, therebydetermining an image type; and a region divider determining a size of aregion on the basis of the image type and dividing the image into theplurality of regions in which each of the plurality of regions has thedetermined size.
 4. The power system of claim 2, wherein the image dataanalyzer comprises a luminance data obtainer for obtaining luminancedata including at least one of a luminance minimum value, a luminancemaximum value, and a luminance average value of each of the plurality ofregions.
 5. The power system of claim 2, wherein the image data analyzercomprises a saturation data obtainer for obtaining saturation dataincluding at least one of a saturation average value and a saturationvariation value of each of the plurality of regions.
 6. The power systemof claim 2, wherein the image data analyzer comprises a degradationdegree predictor for analyzing a tendency of luminance data of eachregion and predicting a pixel degradation degree of each region on thebasis of the tendency of the luminance data of each region andsaturation data of each region.
 7. The power system of claim 2, whereinthe image data analyzer comprises: a luminance compensator fordetermining a luminance compensation value of each region on the basisof the pixel degradation degree of each region and converting the imagedata on the basis of the luminance compensation value of each region;and a current supply amount predictor for predicting the amount ofsupplied current on the basis of the converted image data.
 8. The powersystem of claim 7, wherein the luminance compensator is configured to:check a luminance minimum value of each region with respect to a totalimage luminance average value or a luminance maximum value of eachregion with respect to the total image luminance average value, when achecked value is greater than a reference value, determine a luminancecompensation value of a corresponding region on the basis of a pixeldegradation degree of the corresponding region, and when the checkedvalue is less than the reference value, determine the luminancecompensation value of the corresponding region as
 0. 9. A power systemfor at least one display apparatus, the power system comprising: animage data analyzer for analyzing image data to predict a pixeldegradation degree of each of pixels included in a display panel andpredicting an amount of current supplied to the display panel on thebasis of the predicted pixel degradation degree; and a power supply forsupplying the display panel with power corresponding to the predictedamount of supplied current, wherein the power supply comprises: a modedeterminer determining one of a high power mode, a middle power mode,and a low power mode as an operation mode on the basis of the predictedamount of supplied current; and a controller driven based on thedetermined operation mode to perform control so that power correspondingto the predicted amount of supplied current is output to the displaypanel.
 10. The power system of claim 9, wherein the controllercomprises: a first switching controller driven based on a pulse widthmodulation (PWM) scheme to perform control so that the powercorresponding to the predicted amount of supplied current is output tothe display panel, when the high power mode is determined; and a secondswitching controller driven based on a pulse frequency modulation (PFM)scheme to perform control so that the power corresponding to thepredicted amount of supplied current is output to the display panel,when the middle power mode or the low power mode is determined.
 11. Apower system for display apparatuses, the power system comprising: animage data analyzer obtaining saturation data and luminance data of animage from image data input to a display panel and predicting an amountof current supplied to the display panel on the basis of the obtainedsaturation data and luminance data; and a power supply supplying thedisplay panel with power corresponding to the predicted amount ofsupplied current, wherein the image data analyzer is configured toanalyze a histogram of the image data to obtain a grayscale-basedfrequency number of each of a plurality of colors and to predict theamount of current supplied to the display panel on the basis of agrayscale-based frequency number of each of the plurality of colors anda grayscale-based current weight value of each of the plurality ofcolors.
 12. The power system of claim 11, wherein the image dataanalyzer predicts a pixel degradation degree of each of pixels includedin the display panel on the basis of saturation data and luminance dataof the image, converts the image data on the basis of the predictedpixel degradation degree, and predicts an amount of supplied currentcorresponding to the converted image data.
 13. The power system of claim12, wherein the image data analyzer divides the image into a pluralityof regions and analyzes a tendency of at least one of saturation dataand luminance data of each of the plurality of regions to predict apixel degradation degree of each region.
 14. The power system of claim13, wherein the luminance data comprises at least one of a luminanceminimum value, a luminance maximum value, and a luminance average valueof each of the plurality of regions, and the saturation data comprisesat least one of a saturation average value and a saturation variationvalue of each of the plurality of regions.